Sweet Sound: Violinist forges a path in music

Violinist Eddy Fabrizio Castellanos is someone whose will pushes him toward hope instead of ruin – to make the best out of any situation. He did it as a youth and continues to in adulthood.

Growing up in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Castellanos started studying music at the age of 6. He wanted to play the piano, inspired by his pianist cousin. Unfortunately, genetics got in the way.

When the time came to start learning, Castellanos received a revelation.

“My professor said my hand was too short to play the piano,” he said. “So, they said the violin would fit better because it’s shorter. For that reason, I started playing violin.”

Castellanos picked the violin up at 9 years old, and needless to say, he didn’t like it. Violins are considered one of the hardest instruments to play as there are many factors going into its sound.

As a beginner violinist, a person is looking at the sound’s intonation, making sure you’re giving an acceptable bow force and watching your motion all while learning the notes and tones your instrument can play.

The short version is there is a lot of finesse, love and care that goes into playing the violin. Eventually, that and ownership of his own violin led to Castellanos love for playing the instrument.

“The violin that I had at the time was from the school and wasn’t that good. I was just starting, so it was really hard to get a good sound,” he said, referencing he was in fourth grade at the time.

In fifth grade, his mom bought him a violin.

“It was better than what I had before and I started playing a little bit better, practicing more,” Castellanos said. “I got to sixth grade and I decided that I really like – no I love – violin. I think I can be good at playing it.”

He started setting goals for himself, saying “I’m going to play that song by the end of the week.” 

But it’s been a long time since then. 

After studying in a conservatory for five years, Castellanos began his undergraduate at Valdosta State University for music performance. He plans to continue on to his master's degree, but his ultimate goal is to be a traveling performer, improving himself along the way and just be free to play.

Along the way, he wants to help the people he meets along the way – children trying to find their way in playing violin.

Castellanos has taken charge of doing that through private lessons as well as teaching students in the South Georgia String Project. He said he wants them to understand they are ready to be violinists.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it a difficult as he’s been teaching in an online setting. He hopes by next year to be teaching again in person.

“For music, it’s the best way, especially for strings,” Castellanos said. “We (the teachers) need to hear the sound and hearing through a video call is no good.”

Still, he does what he can for his students, especially in cultivating their love of music. Right now, in the pandemic, he said he believes music is needed more than ever.

“It’s a passion, first of all, and also music gave me freedom to express what I feel or what I want,” Castellanos said. “For the people, it’s very rewarding. When I’m playing, it’s not just about how I feel, but also how I make the people feel.”

It’s about the mutual expression between the violinist and the audience. What feelings do you want to evoke in them? What are you feeling? These are the notions, a violinist might think about, Castellanos said.

And it’s important not to put yourself in a box, at least that’s what he doesn’t want for himself.

Castellanos said he loves classical music for its purity, but to him, music is an international language. For musicians to improve their fluency in the language, they need to stream in all types of musical genres while playing, he said.

“For my shows, I play from classical to folk, some jazz (a little bit), some rock and roll (too),” Castellanos noted. “I like to experiment with all kinds of music because different people like different types of music. I want to give people what they want to hear.”

In knowing the venue, a musician knows the audience, so Castellanos tries to tailor his performance to where he’s going. He mainly plays at venues in Valdosta and Tifton, but sometimes travels to Florida to play.

Still working on his own style, Castellanos said writing music is something he hopes to do in the future.

“I can do arrangements but not my own music yet,” he said. “It’s something that I haven’t started, but maybe a few years from now, it’s definitely something I want to try.”

For now, his focus is his degree, his teaching and to improve as a violinist.

“I want my students to see in me inspiration, so they can be more involved with music,” Castellanos said. “Then, they could take that passion and make their own decisions as musicians.”

More information: (240) 918-8941; youtube.com/FabrizioCastellanos; eddyfabrizio83@gmail.com